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Jeffrey Plale (b. May 31, 1968) was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate. He represented District 7 since 2003. He was previously an Assemblyman on the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1996 to 2003 and a South Milwaukee Alderman from 1993 to 1996. His current term ended in 2010.

Plale's professional experiences include shareholder operations specialist for Strong Capital Management and former investment agent.

Plale earned a B.A. and M.A. in communications/public relations from Marquette University.[1]

Committee assignments

Sen. Plale served on these legislative committees for the 2009-2010 session:[2]

Special Committee on Differences in Laws Applicable to Cities and Villages

Select Committee on Clean energy, Co-Chair

Issues

Employee contracts

Gov. Jim Doyle's administration negotiated the public employee contracts and it hit a snag in the state legislature in mid-December 2010.

The Wisconsin Senate was deadlocked 16-16 on the series of public employee contracts the chamber considered. Democratic state Sens. Russ Decker and Plale joined Republican state senators in opposition.

"It wasn't a party-line vote," Decker said.

Decker is a member of the Bricklayers International Union. He voted for the slate of union contracts in a joint legislative committee Wednesday morning. He was stripped of his majority leader title in a closed-door meeting, following the first deadlocked vote.

When the Senate returned to vote by the same count on each of the remaining contracts, state Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, took the role of majority leader.

"I'm extremely surprised," said state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha. "Never in a million years would you that the majority leader,who's been telling people for two weeks that they (the Senate) had the votes and they were moving forward, would be the one to actually kill (the series of contracts)," Barca said.[3]